It is well known that petroleum deposits, ore bodies, and other valuable Earth materials are found at various locations and depths in the Earth, and that these Earth materials are often difficult if not impossible to find with the naked eye. Accordingly, it is also well known that many different exploration techniques and systems have been developed to provide a reliable indication of the presence of these commercially important deposits.
It is conventional, of course, to drill test holes at locations of particular interest, and to recover samples of Earth materials at various depths, to determine the actual character of the Earth materials. If cost were not a factor, drill holes such as for oil and gas would be cored throughout their entire length. This is not feasible, however, for reasons of economy. As such, cheaper procedures have been developed and utilized.
It is also conventional to measure topographical irregularities in order to obtain an indication of the existence of subsurface structures of particular interest. Similarly, it is conventional to measure differences in seismic reverberations, and to measure variations in gravitational pull at selected locations. Although such measurements are often used with success to locate faults, traps and other subsurface Earth structures wherein oil and other valuable minerals could be found, most strata-graphic traps and the like do not contain such minerals, and therefore such measurements are most useful for eliminating unlikely areas of interest rather than to detect actual deposits of minerals.
More recently, procedures for subsurface prospecting have been developed which measure electromagnetic radiation emitted by the mineral-bearing formations. It is known, of course, that this planet itself constitutes and functions as a generator of electromagnetic radiation which, in turn, creates current flows within the Earth. Accordingly, measurement techniques such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,679,978 have been developed to detect and analyze these magneto-telluric currents within the Earth bed adjacent the surface, as a direct indication of selected minerals of interest. Although effective in locating and measuring the extent of ore bodies, such techniques do not indicate the type of minerals present.
It is apparent that if the planet is a generator of electromagnetic radiation within itself, these current flows within the Earth will include both AC and DC currents which will be functionally related to both the individual mineral-bearing formations and their contents. Furthermore, it will be apparent that current flows within but adjacent the surface of the Earth will inherently create functionally related electrical fields adjacent but above the surface of the Earth. These electrical fields are composed of carrier waves having frequencies characteristic of the type of mineral in that formation.
Several techniques have been developed to measure these electrical fields which exist near but above the surface of the Earth. U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,611 to Helms describes a method of traversing the surface of the Earth and recording “solar wind” activity of sufficient strength to detect anomalies related to surface and subsurface mineral deposits. This apparatus uses the root mean square (RMS) method to detect increases or decreases in the Earth's electrical fields. U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,101 to Sayer describes a prospecting apparatus that utilizes a distortion of the atmospheric electro-static potential gradient, which is suggested to be a result of the Nernst effect. Sayer teaches that the distortion provides a means for locating subterranean sources of geothermal energy. Alterations in the Earth's magnetic fields known as “magnetic noise” is described by Slichter in U.S. Pat. No. 3,136,943, which discloses that such noise is primarily the product of lightening discharges. However, because many of these methods and apparatus are based on the AC components of the electrical fields, the techniques are more effective and reliable depending upon the size or area extent of the mineral deposit of interest. More particularly, the techniques based on the AC components are less sensitive and effective in detecting the presence of smaller mineral deposits. To overcome the shortcomings of the AC measurements, U.S. Pat. No. 4,841,250 to Jackson provides a technique utilizing the DC components of the electrical fields.
It is also known to utilize the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the mineral-bearing formations to create radioactivity “logs.” In oil-field terminology, a “log” is a report that furnishes information regarding the geological formations. A radioactivity log includes the gamma-ray log, gamma—gamma log, neutron-gamma log and neutron—neutron log. The gamma-ray log records the natural radioactivity in the form of gamma-rays in the bore hole emanating from the formation. The most abundant radioactive isotope is K40, which occurs in potassium-bearing minerals and is especially abundant in clay minerals. Therefore, the gamma-ray log distinguishes shale beds from non-shale beds by recording a high gamma radiation. In the gamma—gamma log, the radiation is induced by bombarding the bore-hole walls with gamma rays. The amount of back-scatter is recorded. Because the more dense atoms resist the bombardment, the back-scatter is greater. Accordingly, the amount of back-scatter is directly related to the bulk density of the formation and to the porosity.
In the two neutron logs, the formation is bombarded with neutrons. The neutron-gamma log measures the induced gamma radiation from the heavier atoms. In this reaction, hydrogen ions absorb the neutron particles, and reduced gamma radiation indicates the relative abundance of hydrogen, which may exist largely in the fluids of pores. Therefore, the induced gamma radiation is inversely proportional to the porosity of the formation. The neutron—neutron log measures neutron capture within the formation, which again is proportional to the hydrogen density and therefore to the porosity or bulk density of the formation.
A limitation of the radioactivity log is that they cannot distinguish between water and hydrocarbons, e.g. oil. Both would indicate a relative abundance of hydrogen and, therefore, the presence of porous formations. These logs could not distinguish between these two. The use of radioactive detection at the Earth's surface or near surface has been well known for many years and known as radiometrics, which is a method to log variations in the Earth's natural radioactive emissions as one traverses the surface on land or by plane in order to measure decreases and increases in these emissions in order to locate oil, gas and mineral deposits.
These disadvantages of the prior art are overcome with the present invention, and improved methods and apparatus for passive geophysical prospecting are provided for obtaining a more sensitive and precise measurement of the presence and character of relatively small deposits of valuable materials, e.g., hydrocarbons, ore deposits, and precious minerals.